Welcome to Damascus College for the 2021 School year! It is genuinely a delight to be able to welcome everyone into the school, something just a year ago we took for granted. This year Damascus College celebrates 140 years of continuous catholic education in Ballarat, and we celebrate this in the year where we commemorate 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia. We are part of a significant longitudinal ministry and a spirit of collaboration between the Sisters of Mercy, the priests of the Diocese and the lay people of greater Ballarat for the young people of Ballarat since the commencement of Sacred Heart College in 1881, has been a hallmark of this community!

I welcome all those who are new to our community and congratulate you on your efforts over recent days to make a positive start at Damascus. I thank families for your support of our Teacher Advisor program last week. The relationship between the College and the family through the Teacher Advisor Program is one of the key partnering dimensions between the College and your family in supporting your young person/people's growth. This is critical for us whether the student is in Year 7 through to Year 12. It was great to see such high levels of engagement with everyone appreciating the opportunity to be back face to face. For us as school staff to see the growth in our young people over the summer, is another of the great joys of being in a secondary school.

Damascus News is published weekly on a Wednesday and has information from the Principal, members of the College Leadership Team and general school community events and news. It can be accessed through the College App or the website, and the link is shared by email. I am always open to feedback on aspects of my weekly communication and value when we can share the joys and challenges of family life. If your family welcomes a new life, if there are bereavements or if you have general pieces of information that you would like to share, I can be contacted at principal@damascus.vic.edu.au. If families have questions or concerns about aspects of school life, depending on the nature of the query or concern, please work with the respective staff member with the specific responsibility. For example, if there is a concern about your young person's wellbeing, start with the Teacher Advisor, and they will refer you onto our House Leader or Counselling team if they feel it is appropriate. If you have an enquiry about the contents of a particular class, please contact the class teacher. For more general enquiries and daily absences, more information is available at Contact Us - Damascus College.

Naturally, the return of the school year brings with it higher levels of routine for school families following the more casual summer months. It does take a week for students to get back into routine. I cannot understate the value of plenty of sleep, a healthy diet and exercise to fuel good learning and assist your student/s in establishing sound routines from the start of the year. If there have been any concerns over the initial days of your student's schooling, please talk with your Teacher Advisor, and they will support you to try and navigate solutions.

Each year the College chooses a theme to frame our prayer, reflections and liturgies. This year our theme comes from the first chapter of the Book of Joshua.

"Be strong and courageous; for God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1.9).

We have a theme to frame our liturgies and provide a means of grounding our Catholic identity in scripture. The theme is central to our identity, particularly in this year where we celebrate the 140-year continuity of our ministry.

"Be strong and courageous; for God is with you wherever you go," is a theme that builds on our experience of 2020. In times of unsurety, we need to face our challenges with strength and courage and know that we are not alone. The manifestation of God's love is present in the people and environment around us and helping young people to grow in resilience through knowledge of the love of God is something we hope will further equip them for the world in which they learn and grow. Our Leader of Faith and Catholic Identity, Tony Haintz, has helped me to understand the context of the quote and the character Joshua. A character who is attributed with violence in restoring the Promised Land to the 12 tribes of Israel. While we acknowledge the challenge context of the theme, it is ultimately the reassurance of God's presence in our lives that we need to remember to sustain us in times of challenge. This is the gift we want to nurture in our young people in 2021.

The Damascus College 2020 graduates continued to demonstrate remarkable character in working through the unsettling period that saw their results arrive on 30th December and then tertiary offers on 4th January. Grace Young Harvey was a thoroughly deserving Dux of the College with an outstanding ATAR score of 99.4. Numbers never measure the achievement of young people, and our community has a collective pride in the achievements of the young men and women who graduated in 2020. This year we will take a different approach to our celebration of Year 12 high achievers with a family awards and achievement evening. The highlights of which will be shared with the broader school community. This event will be held on Thursday 25th February in the Damascus Events Centre.

On Wednesday morning, I am heading off with our 2021 Year 12 students on their retreat experience to Anglesea. It is always a great privilege to be able to spend this significant time with our senior students, and it is something I look forward to every year, although beach weather is looking like it will be consistent with the rest of the 2020/21 summer!!

We welcome a number of new staff to our Damascus team after very rigorous recruitment activity in 2020;

• Emma Baldwin joins the College as the Human Resources Officer.
• Angela Crebbin joins our English teaching team
• Adrian Lane Joins our Religious Education teaching team,
• Susannah Berens also joins our Religious Education teaching team.
• Michelle Bodey also joins our English teaching team

A number of staff have joined the Damascus team since we commenced at the start of last year including;

• Christine Gawne is a member of the Technology team and Textiles teacher
• Liam Downie is a member of the English and Humanities teaching teams
• Nicole Saleta is a member of the Science team as a Science Technician
• Mary Vanderlinden is a member of our Technology team as a Food Science Technician
• Tony Van der Ploeg is a member of our Maintenance team
• Naomi O'Brien has joined our Wellbeing and Diverse Learning Teams as a Diverse Learning Support teacher.
• Anna Rowlands has joined our Languages and Humanities teaching teams
• Lauren Stirling a member of the wellbeing team and Provisional Psychologist
• Jasmine Beaumont is a Learning Support Officer within our Diverse Learning Team.
• Kristiana Withers and Shaun O'Loughlin have both moved to ongoing teaching roles in 2021.
• We are delighted with the calibre and commitment of the staff who have joined Damascus College over the past 12 months, and we are confident they will be great additions to our College community.

The ongoing safety and well-being of all children and young people is the primary focus of care and decision making at Damascus College. Particular attention is paid to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children and children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds as well as the safety of children with a disability. Protecting young people from abuse is critical for Damascus College. Over the break, we have been reviewing and updating our Child Safe and Safeguarding Children and Young People policies and procedures and these can be seen on the College website here. Families are encouraged to engage with our policies and procedures and ask questions or suggest improvements. In partnership with our families, Damascus College ensures children and young people are engaged and active participants in decision- making processes, particularly those that have an impact on their safety. This means that the views of staff, children, young people and families are taken seriously, and their concerns are addressed in a just and timely manner. For further information, please contact the College's Child Protection Officer, Deputy Principal, Chris Grant on 03 5337 2222 or visit child safety on the Damascus Website here for more information.

With safety in mind, and living in COVID-19 normal times, Damascus will continue to prioritise safety and trust in the advice of the Chief Health Officer as we move into 2021. We have received an updated Operations Guide from the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria, and some of the advice pertains to face masks. Students must carry a face mask at all times and wear it when social distancing of 1.5 m cannot be maintained. Students must wear a face mask on buses and public transport. Given our ongoing prioritising of safety, this requires the mask be worn in classroom environments, as it is unlikely 1.5 m social distancing can be maintained. We are expecting students to wear the mask in class when 1.5m cannot be maintained. This does not apply to PE practical classes or outdoor activities.

There is not currently limits to parents being onsite, other than if they are to be here more than 15 minutes, they must sign in for contact tracing purposes. For child safe reasons, our practice remains that all visitors must sign in and commit to the College's Code of Conduct if they are to come beyond the office for any reason.

The Damascus College 5 S's remain a key guiding document for our community. The key to everyone's safety being that if students, family members or staff are feeling unwell please follow the most important "s" of our 5 S's "Sick – Stay Home" (and get tested).

The College has not scheduled any whole school events in the first half off Term 1, to ensure confidence in school planning as we return for 2021 and to prevent the need for large community gatherings.

Tomorrow and Thursday there are tours of the College for prospective future students. If you are a current family who has a child in Grade 6 this year and are seeking a Year 7 placement in 2022, please get your enrolment before this coming Friday, 5th February as the demand for places is high. More information about enrolments and School tours can be found here.

We were delighted to be able to use the Damascus Events Centre (DEC) for our end of 2020 Year 12 exams and graduation event. Already this year it has been lovely to host our new Year 7 family morning tea. This new centre is a wonderful facility for the school community, and I look forward to being able to share with you some of the exciting opportunities we have within it over the coming months.

With the completion of the building works, the new Dobson's Damascus College Uniform Shop is now located on the lower level of the DEC.

You may have experienced it this morning, but our transit and parking arrangements have reverted to our bitumen loop now that the building program is completed. Parking is still available from Jones Avenue, but you can no longer drive through the College to it.

Damascus Rowers acquitted themselves well at the Wendouree Ballarat Rowing Club Regatta conducted over Saturday and Sunday. This regatta followed the Geelong Regatta for our intermediate and senior students' last weekend and Rowing camps for all students both here in Ballarat and at Nagambie. I thank Rowing Coordinator Paul Blanchfield, Hamish Walsh, and Head of Sport, Nikki Hexter for their coordination and support of these events. There are many other staff and volunteer coaches who have played pivotal roles, and I acknowledge their efforts as we move into the key competitive time of the rowing season over the coming weeks. I also thank and acknowledge our parent volunteers for their catering and regatta organisation efforts over the weekend. I congratulate Angus Shillito (Year 12 and Rowing Co-Captain) on winning the male U19 Sculling Championship on Saturday. I also congratulate Damascus students Caspian Linayao (Year 12), William McKechnie (Year 11) and Riley McCarthy (Year 12) on their success, winning multiple U21 events in open company over both days of the regatta.

In Athletics, I congratulate Greta Ashley (Year 8) on her recent win and a new record for the girls U16 2000m Steeplechase at the Victorian Track and Field Championships last weekend, Gretta also achieved a 3rd in the U16 1500m event. Incoming Year 7 students Oaklee Burge and Lucy Jones also acquitted themselves well. Lucy won the U14 girls 800m event, setting a new record and was 2nd in the U14 400m event. Oaklee also achieved a 3rd in the boys U14 800m and 1500m events. 2019 Alumni Eliza Lepair won the 3000m open women's event.

In any community, there are joys and losses occur over the summer period. In our staff team, Danielle Skewes became a grandmother, staff member Shaun O'Loughlin and his wife Amy, the parents of a beautiful little boy, James! The Sisters of Mercy lost two significant women, Sr Rosemary Glennan lived a life of committed ministry to those in need, and she was a substantive figure in boarding at St Martin's in the Pines (one of our founding colleges). The Sisters also lost Sr Cath Grant, whose ministry in health and pastoral care touched many lives. We remember the Sisters in our thoughts and prayers.

Former staff member, Sallie Burke lost her Mum late last week, and we keep Sallie in our prayers. Students Brody (Year 9) and Tegan (Year 7) Turner lost their maternal grandmother recently, and we keep the Turner family in our prayers. Sophie Mercer (Year 9) and her family grieve the passing of her loved maternal grandfather. We keep the Turner family in our prayers.

We are lucky to live in our relative safe and richly connected community at Damascus College.

We are excited about 2021 and the educational journey, and I look forward to sharing that journey with you